Track Meet!

I haven't run a college hosted track meet possibly since I was in college (a long time ago I know). There are some major differences in strategy from a road race. You don't want to be in lane 2 the whole time, but you don't want to get boxed in or lose your momentum. Getting quarter splits gives you a much better chance of staying on the right pace, but you don't want to freak out everytime the pace isn't exactly on.
Yesterday I ran the 5,000m at the University of Maryland meet in College Park. The temperature was a little cold when we showed up at 8am - on the warmup I wished I brought some gloves. But, the sun warmed things up so with the calm air it was pretty much perfect conditions.
There were ~20 guys in the race and I was seeded 13th - so, I was a over half way to the outside of the track when the gun went off. I tried to get decent position without using too much energy. After one lap we were ~77 - about 2 seconds slower than my expected pace. After hearing the split some guys on the front took off. I gradually increased my pace to ~74 for the next lap.
I had some company, but I also had room to pass if needed. At the mile I heard 5:00 - right on pace. As some of the folks in front of me started to slow I made my way around them - my splits staying around 75. A little before the 2 mile (~10:00) I was leading the chase group with a lot of real estate in front of me - but, soon the 5th place runner came back to us. He had been running by himself for awhile and when I first came up on him he surged. Rather than push hard to get around him I let him lead figuring that if he was willing to go my pace I'd rather have him in front of me. Of course after 200 meters he started to fade and I made my way around him. The next runners were at least 100 meters in front of me, but I only had ~3 laps to go so I tried my best to "lift". Although I felt like I was going faster, my last mile split (5:01) would show otherwise (not that I looked at it). Even though I had nobody to chase I felt pretty good about my last 200m.
It was the best $20 I've spent on a race in a long time. I ran faster for 5k than I have in a LONG time - and I got to flex some track tactical strategies that have been dormant for a long time (have I said "long time" enough in this post?). Unfortunately things probably won't work out for me to run another track race this year - but I do have some fun races coming up - the two blossoms - Cherry Blossom 10 miler and the Apple Blossom 10k in my new hometown of Winchester, VA. But I think that I'll be sure to schedule a track race each spring - it was a good for the running soul.

Last Week
Monday: 9 miles
Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Tuesday evening: 11 miles 3X1200 (3:48, 3:46.7, 3:45.5) 3X1000(3:07.8, 3:08.3, 3:03.8) 2X400 (70.3, 69.6)
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday morning: 4 miles
Thursday evening: 9 miles 4 mi @ T pace 22:20
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 7 miles 5k UMD Track 15:36
Sunday: 17 miles
Total: 77 miles

Next Week
Monday: 9 miles
Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Tuesday evening: 11 miles 6X (600m I pace 1 min rest 400m I pace 30 sec rest 200m I pace 30 sec rest)
Wednesday: 8.5 miles
Thursday: 11 miles 7 mi @ T pace
Friday: 12 miles
Saturday: 5 miles
Sunday: 20 miles
Total: 80.5 miles

Getting out the door when you'd rather jump head first into a meat grinder

My high school coach used to say that the secret to running is simply to get out the door. Some days that door feels like it weighs a couple of tons. Today was such a day. Last night my friends at TTWSS threw a going away party. Arjun thought it would be a good idea to have everybody bring me a beer as a present. While I thought this was a great idea - some people expected me to drink their beer last night. So, as not to offend anybody I had a few too many.
Originally I had planned to wake up around 10am. When noon came and I was still glued to the bed I wasn't too sure that I was able to get out for my planned 20 mile long run. I got a little food in me as I hadn't eaten for over 12 hours and as I still lay in bed I decided that maybe 17 miles would be enough. So, I finally did get out the door at 1:30pm. I've loved the onset of spring, but the warmth was not my friend this afternoon. Luckily my route took me through some parks with water fountains or else I'm not sure I would have made it. And believe it or not - I actually felt better when I got home.

Last Week
Monday: 8.5 miles
Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Tuesday evening: 10.5 miles 4X(1mi @ T pace 1 min rest) (5:35; 5:26.8; 5:27.4; 5:16.6) + 2X(1k @ I pace 3 min jog) (3:04.8; 3:01.7) + 4X(200m @ R pace 200m jog) (31.8; 34; 33.3; 34.1)
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday morning: 4 miles
Thursday evening: 10.5 miles 6X (600m I pace 1 min rest 400m I pace 30 sec rest 200m I pace 30 sec rest) (1:51.4; 74.2; 37.4; 1:50.9; 73.6; 34.7; 1:51.5; 72.5; 36.1; 1:50.1; 72.2; 35.3; 1:47.2; 71.2; 35.3; 1:45.5; 70.3; 35.0)
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 10.5 miles
Sunday: 17 miles
Total: 81 miles

This Week
Monday: 9 miles
Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Tuesday evening: 12 miles 4X(1 mile @ T pace with 3-min jogs) + 6X(200m R pace with 200m jogs) + 2 mi acceleration run increases 5 xec per 300m with last 400m interval pace
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday morning: 4 miles
Thursday evening: 10 miles 4 mi @ T pace + 4X(200m @ R pace with 200m jogs)
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 10 miles 5k race
Sunday: 18 miles
Total: 82.5 miles

Taking the bad with the good

Last week didn't go as planned. I had hoped to run a little over 80 miles with two quality workouts and the Kelly Shamrock 5k. Early last week I came down with a nasty cold - by Tuesday it was in my chest and it felt earily similar to how I felt a few days before I landed in the hospital on Thanksgiving. Luckily this was less serious - but, it did cause me to cut my workout short on Tuesday. Thursday went pretty well - but, I was exhausted on Friday.
I decided that it would probably be best to take a full day off. I was also going to do an extended cool down yesterday - but, I just packed it in after 4 miles. The result is that I ran almost 20 miles less last week than planned. Actually this might not be such a bad thing. I'm in the middle of a seven week stretch of 80+ mile weeks - so, a little break isn't that bad of an idea. The proof will be in how things go this week with my training. It's a tough week - but, I think I'm up for it.
The race went about as well as I could have hoped. I thought I was in about 15:40 shape and I ran a 15:42. I ended up in 5th - I could see 4th place for what seemed like over half the race - but, I just couldn't close the gap. In two weeks I'm hoping to run the University of Maryland 5k on the track and shave a few seconds off that time.

Last Week
Monday: 9 miles
Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Tuesday evening: 10 miles 3X1mi I pace 800 rest (5:03; 5:02; 5:04) 1X800 (2:37) Sick - didn't feel too bad until the 3rd mile repeat
Wednesday: 8 miles
Thursday morning: 4 miles
Thursday evening: 14 miles 4 mi @ T pace (21:58) 4 min rest 2 mi @ T pace (11:06) 2 min rest 2 mi @ T pace (10:55) 2 min rest 1 mi @ T pace (5:16)
Friday: 0 miles
Saturday: 4 miles
Sunday: 10 miles 5k Baltimore Shamrock 15:42
Total: 63 miles

This Week
Monday: 9 miles
Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Tuesday evening: 10 miles 4X(1mi @ T pace 1 min rest) + 2X(1k @ I pace 3 min jog) + 4X(200m @ R pace 200m jog)
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday morning: 4 miles
Thursday evening: 10 miles 3X2 mi @ T pace 2 min rests
Friday: 7 miles
Saturday: 11 miles 6X (600m I pace 1 min rest 400m I pace 30 sec rest 200m I pace 30 sec rest)
Sunday: 20 miles
Total: 85 miles

Thanks for the memories

For those of you who don't know, my wife and I are going to be moving from Baltimore to Winchester, VA early next month. She is starting a new job at Shenandoah University - and of course it doesn't matter much for me since I work from home. It's a little bitter-sweet. It's certainly a change that my wife needs to make for a lot of reasons, but I will certainly miss my friends/training group here in Baltimore.
Since we moved here three years ago I've gotten into the best shape since college. I'm about to turn 33 this month, so it's kind of fun to still have the opportunity to run PR's at some distances. Ryan McGrath will probably deny it and say something like - "I can't do the training for you" - but, he has created a running group that's unlike any other I've ever seen. The focus is on fun - but, we all have a strong motivation to run well too. This combination of fun and yet having so many other club members doing truly inspiring things was exactly what I needed to make running fresh for me again.
It looks like there are some decent runners in Winchester - so, hopefully I'll have some company as I look to push myself this summer. I should have more than enough soft surfaces which will be a nice change from the pavement of Baltimore. And it's not so far from Baltimore that I can't meet up for a long run every once in awhile.
My training went pretty well this week. I was all kinds of sore on Tuesday - so, it felt good to run right around 5 min pace for my intervals on Tuesday. Today I ran my longest run since November. I feel like I'm in a strong place right now - but, we'll see how the Baltimore Kelly Shamrock 5k goes next week. I've never run this race even though it starts 3 blocks from our apartment and is one of the larger races in Baltimore. I was hoping to run a 5k at the University of Maryland outdoor meet on 3/27 - but, it sounds like they are no longer running the 5k - so, I'll have to find something else.

Last Week
Monday: 9 miles
Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Tuesday evening: 12 miles 5X1mi I pace 800 rest (5:03.8, 5:00.7, 5:00.8, 4:59.7, 4:58.7)
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday morning: 4 miles
Thursday evening: 10 miles
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 11 miles 4X200 2X400 1X800 2X400 4X200 (34.3; 34.8; 33.7; 34.2; 68.5; 69; 2:22.3; 70.6; 68.7; 35; 35.9; 34; 34.2)
Sunday: 21.5 miles
Total: 87.5 miles

This Week
Monday: 9 miles
Tuesday morning: 4 miles
Tuesday evening: 12.5 miles 6X1mi I pace 800 rest
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday morning: 4 miles
Thursday evening: 14 miles 4 mi @ T pace 4 min rest 3 mi @ T pace 3 min rest 2 mi @ T pace 2 min rest 1 mi @ T pace
Friday: 10 miles
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 14 miles 5k Baltimore Shamrock
Total: 83.5 miles